Street Gangs
As people of different diversities began entering the United States in the eighteenth century, gangs emerged in their areas of settlement. The idea behind their formation was to enable themselves to gain group identity in the areas they occupied, deal with cultural tension, and establish a unified presence that would help them acquire a living in their new locations. However, gangs have seen a lot of evolvement over the years both in their scope of operations and the type of activities they engage in. Although the street gangs of the nineteenth century engaged in some criminal activities, the gangs of the twenty-first century are more of a threat to the public safety than they were then.
Most street gangs are known to have a specific locality where they carry out their operations. Some gangs, however, operate in an entire state or any location in the nation. They often dominate certain localities prohibiting other street gangs from operating in their territory. Disputes between members of different gangs as a result of a conflict of interest can be very lethal in their fighting tactics and arms. The proliferation of street gangs in most of the states and cities in the United States has got the law enforcers glued to solving their cases most of which are almost never successful. Nevertheless, the isolated street gangs are easier to target than those street gangs that have no specific locality for their operations.
Street gangs plan their dealings and undertake their training in secluded areas often referred to as “dens”. The areas could be ruins of an old inhabitation, tunnels, unused land away from the civil residence, or buildings that are no longer in use either due to their inhabitable state or lack of completion. It is almost impossible to find street gangs co-habiting these locations with each other. The criminal operations of this sort of street gangs are in most cases limited to their sphere of influence.
According to Isaac (2015), most street gangs today are known to thrive the most in disorganized surroundings where the youths have little or no supervision and are often idle. They, therefore, operate in the residential environment of their upbringing where they are conversant with the daily activities and routines of most people and businesses. To obtain respect from other members of their society despite their social status, the gangs use violence and armed-tactics which they believe are the most appropriate methods to make their presence appreciated. They establish a way to delineate themselves and feel important in the society’s eyes. These include the use of unique language, dressing code, tattoos, signs and/or demeanor.
Determining what a certain street gang has the most influence on is very difficult. Albeit violence is common in most of the street gangs, research has it that not all street gangs are criminal street gangs (Matsuda et al., 2013). Drug trafficking is the activity highly associated with the gangs. However, illegal activities such as theft, robbery, kidnapping, extortion, and homicides, are very common with developed street gangs who make them their occupation. Establishing the aims of different street gangs has proved almost impossible for law enforcers. This is because they have learned to cover their prints well that it is hard to collect evidence against them. Most of them also engage in more than one criminal activity although drug trafficking is undertaken by nearly all of them.
In conclusion, street gangs have become a nuisance to many parts of the United States. As discussed, they are not exclusive to the local level. Some street gangs can spread their operations to the state or the entire nation depending on their objectives. It is, however, very difficult for law enforcers to determine these objectives and correctly pin them to a specific street gang. Community policing is, therefore, crucial in the strive to combat street gangs in the United States.
Ask your questions to our best writers for quality and timely essay answers. Learn smartly and seek help from our solution library that grooms your concepts with over 150 courses.
From essays to dissertations, we have experts for all your writing needs!
